Klay Thompson was delighted with his "great" debut, after setting a new franchise record in the Dallas Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs. (More Sports News)
He got 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes, with eighteen of those points coming from 3-pointers, a record for a Mavericks player.
Thompson, who left the Golden State Warriors after 13 years in the close season, helped push the Mavericks to a 120-109 victory on Thursday.
"Great debut," Thompson said.
"It's only one game in October, but it feels good just to get that first one out of the way.
"I had a ton of excitement, really just an awesome feeling. And you only get the first time of something so often."
Victor Wembanyama, meanwhile, finished with 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting with nine rebounds, one assist and a game-high-tying four turnovers to open his second season with the Spurs.
Due to his involvement in the Paris Olympics, Wembanyama was limited to fewer than 40 minutes in preseason, and he admitted he felt that in their season opener.
"Some moments felt great," Wembanyama said. "A little hard conditioning-wise at first, of course [as] I expected.
"But I think we had some good basketball moments and some really bad ones.
"None of us really have played four games since [the] middle of the summer for me. It's a struggle.
"Every player in the NBA goes through it. Conditioning is not an excuse [for missed shots]. I'll have different weapons we need to know when to use.
"So, for the missed shots, it's more getting used to taking shots, getting used to again taking shots in a game."
